Russell Simmons’ Accuser Challenges His Claim of Indonesian Retirement
Russell Simmons is facing more legal pressure from a former Def Jam employee who alleges he raped her in his New York apartment in the mid-1990s.
According to legal documents reviewed by Rolling Stone, the accuser, identified as Jane Doe, is asking a judge to reject the 67 year old’s claim that he can’t be sued in New York because he is a “stateless” U.S. citizen now “retired” in Indonesia, courtesy of a retirement visa he was granted by Indonesian authorities.
“Defendant is running from the court’s jurisdiction to avoid taking accountability for his actions,” the plaintiff stated in a new filing, asserting that the court should have “serious doubt” about Simmons’ claim that he has no binding ties to the U.S.
She countered that Simmons continues to pay for a Manhattan apartment for his children, retains office space in New York for his Russell Simmons TV company, and pursued business projects in Dubai and Singapore.
According to Doe, Simmons’ business activities contradict his claimed retirement status, which she argues is essential to maintain his Indonesian visa.
“Any purported retirement visa requires recertification every few years that one is, in fact, retired. Building an empire and being retired are mutually exclusive,” Doe wrote in her Nov. 1 filing. She also claims that the resort where Simmons allegedly resides is a business he co-owns with American investors and that he remains involved with the media company Gushcloud.
Doe’s evidence also includes a May 2024 interview Simmons gave to AllHipHop, where he described the U.S. as his “home” and dismissed the claims that he fled the country to dodge the sexual abuse allegations.
“People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” Simmons told AllHipHop at the time. “It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in L.A., I’m always in New York and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”
As previously reported, Doe sued Simmons in February for allegedly obstructing the advancement of her career due to harassment. Per her complaint, she worked as a music executive and video producer at Def Jam until their relationship allegedly turned violent.
The plaintiff alleged that Simmons invited her to his apartment to approve a music video until he tried to “wrestle” with her “in an attempt to appear playful.” However, that interaction allegedly “escalated into aggression” when the entrepreneur pinned her down on his bed.
The incident reportedly caused her severe psychological trauma, panic attacks, depression, and anxiety, ultimately impairing her ability to continue working at Def Jam. She described a pattern of ongoing harassment, including incidents where Simmons invaded her personal space at the label’s Manhattan headquarters. The situation was reportedly so severe that a senior executive intervened, telling Simmons to leave her office.
Simmons denied similar allegations in the past during an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger last year, claiming that he has taken nine polygraph lie detector tests.
Doe’s lawsuit, filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the alleged assault and its impact on her career and well-being.
